Big Bro’s Lerato in bid to marry ailing boy, 8

CITIZEN REPORTER

JOHANNESBURG – A South African contestant in Big Brother Africa, Lerato Sengadi, is preparing to marry an eight-year-old boy in an attempt to save his life.

The boy, Gcinumuzi Sifundza, suffers from chronic renal failure and needs a kidney transplant.

The two met at a party on the evening before Valentine’s Day at the Marang House – a home for seriously ill children in Johannesburg.

Sifundza, who is a Swazi, is receiving daily dialysis at the Johannesburg General Hospital. According to Pieter Ernst Jnr of Marang House, the Swazi government has refused to pay for Sifundza’s transplant, even though his mother has offered a kidney.

“If it takes me marrying him to save his life, then so be it,” said Sengadi, a patron of the home. “This is a very serious situation and extreme measures are necessary.”

Permission from the Minister of Home Affairs will be requested this week.

A legal team is investigating how and if a marriage would grant the eight-year- old South African citizenship, and how long this process would take.

Should Sifundza be granted citizenship he will qualify for the R300 000 operation.